Information for Parents and Guardians of Undergraduate Students

Fees

The University of Waterloo bills students one term at a time. 

• Fall Term – September to December
• Winter Term – January to April
• Fall Term – May to August

All of your student's fees are posted to their personal student account on Quest. Due dates for each term are posted on our website a year in advance to allow families to plan to meet them.

Your student's bill for the Fall 2020 term will be available on Quest by August 2020. Your student will be sent several e-mails at their uwaterloo.ca e-mail address with all the information required to achieve the registered status "Fees Arranged" for Fall 2020. A copy of that e-mail is provided below so you can walk through the process with them once their fees are posted.

Please note that each full-time on-campus student is automatically enrolled in the Waterloo Undergraduate Student Association (WUSA) supplementary health & dental insurance plans during every full-time on-campus academic term. Please review the information about the plan and how to opt-out online during your first academic term each year.

We do not send out bills, fee statements or receipts.

You can ask your student to send you the e-bill (electronic bill) available on the account details page on Quest. You can also use the e-bill as a receipt once a payment is posted on the account.

See the About Your Student Account page for more information.

Scholarships & bursaries are not automatically deducted from the amount billed for the term, even if they are displayed on the student's account as Anticipated Aid.

Undergraduate scholarships and bursaries will be disbursed to individual student accounts at the end of the first month of the term, provided their registered status is Fees Arranged.

See the Promissory Note Checklist page for information about the types of funding that can and cannot be used on a Promissory Note and how to apply them.

If the student is covered under your health and/or dental plan, they may be eligible to opt out of the University of Waterloo plan and receive a refund of premiums paid.

We recommend that you bookmark the Due dates page on our website so you can anticipate when your student's payment or Promissory Note is due each term. Note that any time you are not paying the entire balance owing in full (because your student has scholarships, bursaries, awards or government student loans to help pay the fees), the Promissory Note MUST also be submitted.

Please review them with your student to avoid late fee charge. Late fees are not waived under any circumstances.

Your student may be enrolled in courses, but until we know how the fees are going to be paid ("Fees Arranged"), the student is not actually registered for the term.

At Waterloo, once a student becomes fully registered for the term, their status becomes "Fees Arranged". Until a student is "Fees Arranged" for the term, they -

• will not receive government student loan (eg OSAP) funding,

• will not receive any scholarships and bursaries

• will not have immediate access to course material on the online learning system, LEARN

• and may not be allowed to participate in some campus sports, services and activities.

The email below is sent to students each term as soon as fees are posted to student accounts so they know how to earn the registered status "Fees Arranged" for the term. Students can check their registered status at the top of their account details page on Quest.

Student tuition and fees are managed by the Student Financial Services team in the Finance department. We are not part of the the Registrar's Office or the Student Awards & Financial Aid office. Staff at The Centre are authorized to be the first point of contact for questions about your student's account at uWaterloo.

The Centre staff are available between 8:30 and 4:30 on business days. 

It’s time to check your Fall 2020 fee bill on Quest!

Here are some highlights related to your Fall 2020 student fees and your “Fees Arranged” registered status for Fall term:

• The due date to complete the Promissory Note or your payment of the entire Term Balance for Fall term is August 25, 2020.
• Optional and voluntary fees have been minimized for Fall 2020. You can review descriptions of the optional and voluntary fees charged to your account for Fall 2020. If you choose to opt out of any, follow the instructions and view your updated bill. The deadline to opt out of optional and voluntary fees for Fall 2020 term is August 25, 2020.
• In response to the COVID-19 situation, both online courses and most courses that would normally have been offered on-campus are being delivered in online format for the Fall term. Incidental fees will continue to be charged based on the number of “on-campus” courses in which you’re enrolled for the Fall term.
  1. If you are enrolled in 1.5 or more units that are “on-campus” courses being delivered online for Fall term, you will be charged the modified full-time Fall 2020 incidental fees.
  2. If you are enrolled in fewer than 1.5 units that are “on-campus” courses being delivered online for Fall term, you will be charged the modified part-time Fall 2020 incidental fees.
  3. If you are enrolled only in online courses for Fall term, you will not be charged any incidental fees.
• Payment options have changed for Fall 2020.
• If you wish to claim a tuition benefit for Fall term, you no longer need to complete the Promissory Note if that is your only source of funding for the term. The amount will now appear automatically on your student account
  1. Once you are enrolled for the term
  2. Provided the employee has completed the Tuition Benefit application (to claim the tuition benefit for themselves or their child)
• If you wish to claim a seniors tuition discount for Fall term, you no longer need to complete the Promissory Note. The amount will now appear automatically on your student account
  1. Once you are enrolled for the term
  2. Provided you will be age 65 by September 1, 2020.

Your registered status in the Finances section on Quest for Fall term needs to be “Fees Arranged”.  If it is “Not Fees Arranged” after the start of term,

• your financial aid will not be applied to your balance owing 
• your government student loan and grant funding will not be released
• you will eventually lose access to course material on LEARN and any open applications in WaterlooWorks will be cancelled.

Choose one of these options to ensure your registration status is changed to “Fees Arranged”:

• Pay Now - pay the entire Term Balance 
• Pay Later – access the Promissory Note process on Quest to leave a balance owing on your student account equal to your approved financial aid (including scholarships, bursaries, awards, GRS and OSAP funding showing as Anticipated Aid on your student account) and only pay the remaining balance. You cannot use your Offer of Admission Letter as proof of funding for the Promissory Note. Follow the step-by-step instructions to complete the Promissory Note process
  If you do not have proof of approved funding by the due date, you have two options:
  • Pay your fees in full by the due date to avoid late fees; you may wish to ask friends and family to help you out temporarily.
  • Complete your Promissory Note once you have acceptable proof of financial aid or payment of the remaining balance; if this is after the due date, a late fee may be charged to your account.

OSAP Students:

Your OSAP funding will be sent directly to the university to pay your fees when your enrolment is confirmed (beginning 1 week before classes start for the Fall 2020 term). You will need to complete a Promissory Note using the OSAP amount under “Anticipated Aid” on Quest. If your OSAP funding is not showing as Anticipated Aid yet, you can attach a screenshot of your official “Funding Summary” (not the estimate) from your OSAP account. Any OSAP funds remaining after your fees are paid will be deposited in your personal bank account.

Laurier-based cross-registered students can ignore this email.

Questions?

You can contact askthecentre@uwaterloo.ca or find helpful information on the Finance - Student Financial Services website.